THE new interpretation of the offside ruling has caused much controversy and, unfortunately, we were on the receiving end against Mansfield Town on Saturday.

I think it's something that needs to be put in black and white now because there are too many grey areas and I'm not 100 per cent convinced that the officials know where they stand. Their job is difficult enough and they are always going to make mistakes but, for me, when anybody goes in the penalty box they are interfering with play.

Against Mansfield, Mark Ovendale's vision was also being impaired and that's the main reason why they were interfering. Now, I think we need to know whether they are going to say you can do that or knock it on the head completely. But then there's a grey area because some people are genuinely running back to try and get on-side.

I did not get the chance to talk to the referee about Mansfield's second goal but we discussed the interpretation of the ruling with him prior to the match and he said if they were in an offside position and were deemed to be coming away from play then it would be OK but he was certainly interfering.

As defenders, you have got to try to trust the officials but the fact that they are trying to stand with the goalkeeper makes it difficult to defend against. You just have to try to use the ruling to your advantage and stick to your guns.

We have been working on keeping a high line in training and emphasising the need for everybody to be tuned in because if you are playing offside it only needs one person to switch off for things to go wrong. It has got to be looked at but, while this interpretation is in place and, everybody is in the dame position, you have got to look at using it from an attacking point of view. We nearly got a bit of luck when myself and Lee Nogan tried it against Mansfield.

Having seen Mansfield on Saturday, I would say they have a realistic chance of automatic promotion. They are well-organised and have been together for a while.

They are also young and energetic and can cope with Saturday and Tuesday games. From the teams we have played in recent weeks, I would also be surprised if Hull do not do up because of the size of their squad and I think Lincoln are a well-organised team.

People call them this, that and the other and say it's not attractive football but they do not lose many matches and are difficult to break down.

Huddersfield have got a realistic chance as well. They have made a cute signing in Pawel Abbott to replace Jon Stead and I think the difference in this division is the quality of your strikers. Mansfield have an abundance and Lincoln brought two off the bench against us who are capable of getting a goal.

I enquired about Pawel Abbott at the start of the season and, because he's a York lad, I hoped that would work in our favour but he was involved in Preston's first team at the time and I got knocked back. His situation's changed since then but Huddersfield are looking to sign him now after receiving funds from the sale of Jon Stead whereas we would only have been in the position to take him on loan.

Updated: 10:44 Thursday, February 19, 2004